Thursday’s movers: B. of A. worst stock on S&P 500

Boeing rebounds despite grounding of Dreamliners

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Shares of CBS Corp., PulteGroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp. made big moves during U.S. trading Thursday, while Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Boeing Inc. and Herbalife Ltd. were among top trending tickers.

Top tickers trending

$CMG: Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill
CMG, -0.50%
regained some lost ground after it outlined steps to grow its business at an investor conference on Thursday.

In addition to opening another 165 to 180 restaurants, it may consider expanding overseas and developing its Southeast Asian cuisine theme. It will also test out a new shredded tofu item in the San Francisco Bay area to attract more vegetarians, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

The stock had sank over 5% on Wednesday after the company forecast fourth-quarter earnings below the Street’s estimate. David Einhorn: I told you so

$BA: Boeing
BA, -0.24%
shares closed higher after rebounding from earlier losses. The Federal Aviation Administration had grounded Boeing’s Dreamliner 787 jets after a 787 operated by Japan’s All Nippon Airways Co.
9202, +0.55%
was forced to make an emergency landing. Alarms showed overheating of the jet’s main battery led to a burning smell in the cabin. In Japan, ANA and JAL voluntarily grounded their 787s. See: FAA temporarily grounds all Boeing 787 Dreamliners

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Thursday said Boeing’s A credit rating and stable outlook aren't affected by the grounding of the Dreamliners.

“Although this is an unwelcome development, we do not believe this will result in a material impact to Boeing’s credit quality in the near term, and the company has ample liquidity (more than $10 billion in cash and short-term investments, and $4.6 billion of revolver availability as of Sept. 30, 2012) to address the costs of fixing the problem,” said S&P analysts in a statement.

@DigDugTrader: $BA ... Is that where all the excess battery inventory from Fisker went...the experts in battery fires.

@WalterRochester: I blame snakes on the $BA plane

$HLF: Herbalife
HLF, +0.21%
shares remain under pressure as the company took additional steps to shore up confidence in its business model in the wake of harsh criticism from hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

The nutrition supplement company announced on Thursday that its fourth-quarter earnings are likely to be in a range of $1.02 to $1.05 a share, up from 86 cents a year ago. Analysts forecast the company to earn $1.02 a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet. Herbalife will report audited results on Feb. 19.

However, the company warned that there may be a temporary increase in expenses due to “recent events” and there was no indication that it would increase its stock buyback ceiling which some investors have been calling for.

In July, the board authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program for five years. “Since 2007, the company has returned $1.5 billion to shareholders through the repurchase of approximately 52.6 million shares and $350 million in dividends for a total of approximately $1.9 billion, or 118% of net income,” the company said in a statement.

Meanwhile, activist investor Carl Icahn has reportedly taken a stake in Herbalife, joining a high-profile battle that pits him against Ackman who has taken a huge short position in the company. Read: Icahn buys stake in Herbalife

@lindmeritage: First, $HLF will use buyback to clear battlefield of riffraff daytarders, then it will roll out the heavy weaponry and aim it at Billy.

Gainers

CBS
CBS, -3.49%
shares rallied 7.9% in the wake of an announcement from the media entertainment company on Wednesday that it is considering converting its CBS Outdoor Americas unit into a real-estate investment trust. CBS is also pursuing the sale of its CBS Outdoor European business.

K-Swiss Inc.
US:KSWS
shares soared 48%. Late Wednesday, the footwear maker said it agreed to be bought by a South Korean company for $4.75 a share in cash, or a total equity value of around $170 million. That represents a 49% premium over the shares’ closing price of $3.19 on Wednesday. Read: The K in K*Swiss may be shorthand for Korea

PulteGroup
PHM, +0.61%
shares rose 5.3% on the back of strong housing starts data. Construction on new homes jumped 12.1% in December, the highest rate in more than four years, the Department of Commerce said Thursday. Housing starts rise by double digits

Decliners

Reuters

One of All Nippon Airways' fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Shares of blue-chip Bank of America
BAC, +0.20%
fell 4.2%, making them the worst performers on the S&P 500
SPX, +0.01%
The bank said early Thursday that fourth-quarter profit plunged 63% on billions in charges related to a dispute with Fannie Mae
FNMA, -0.27%
and a foreclosure settlement.

Bank of America said its quarterly profit slid to $732 million, or 3 cents a share, from $2 billion, or 15 cents a share, a year ago. Bank of America’s Q4 profit sinks

Citibank Inc.
C, +0.14%
was also one of the worst laggards, losing 2.9%, as it, too, reported quarterly results. The bank’s fourth-quarter profit rose to $1.2 billion from $956 million a year earlier but it revealed hefty expenses, including $1.3 billion in legal charges. See: Citi’s profit up but mortgage issues remain

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